Confronted with the challenge of a defensive wall blocking the way between a free kick and the goal, soccer players have devised the swerve or banana kick to bend the ball around the wall and into the goal. A team specialist such as Roberto Carlos, in his days with Brazil's national team, stepped up to take swerve kick, typically both "effective and spectacular," writes coach Alan Hargreaves in "Skills and Strategies for Coaching Soccer." This advanced skill takes considerable practice.
Step 1
Prepare a supply of kicking tees by cutting plastic cups in half; turn the top of the cup upside down and place the tee on the grass to balance the ball. Pair up with a teammate, share the kicking tees and stand 20 yards apart, with a ball and a practice flag spaced midway.
Step 2
Select a direction, either to the right or left of the target flag, for your swerve shot to take on the way to arriving at your partner's feet. Run up to the ball, land on your plant foot and follow-through your kicking leg not in the direction of the shot, as in a regular shot, but across the front of your body.
Step 3
Focus on the point of contact with the ball, Hargreaves advises: below the horizontal centerline of the ball and outside the vertical centerline to produce spin, which creates the swerve in the air. Maintain all other points of good form in a laces kick: head over the ball, ankle locked and toe pointed down, advises Colin E. Schmidt in "Advanced Soccer Drills."
Step 4
Remove the kicking tee as you become more proficient with the swerve kick. Increase the distance and degree of the swerve and attempt swerve kicks that swing in and out compared to a regular shot, Hargreaves advises. Experiment with using the inside or outside of your foot to strike the inside or outside of the ball.
Things You'll Need
- Flags
- Kicking tees
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